hexadecimale

Hexadecimale, or hexadecimal, is the base-16 numeral system used in mathematics and computing. It uses sixteen distinct symbols: the digits 0 through 9 and the letters A through F (case-insensitive). Each position represents a power of 16, so a number is the sum of each digit times 16 raised to the power of its position from the right. For example, the hex number 2F3 equals 2×16^2 + 15×16 + 3, which is 755 in decimal.

Because each hex digit corresponds to four binary bits (a nibble), two hex digits represent one byte (8 bits). This makes hexadecimal convenient for representing binary data in a compact form.

In computing, hex is widely used to display binary data and memory addresses; it provides a readable, human-friendly representation. In software development, hexadecimal literals are commonly written with prefixes such as 0x in languages like C, Java, and Python. In web development, color values use hex triplets, such as #RRGGBB, where RR, GG, and BB are two-digit hexadecimal numbers ranging from 00 to FF, corresponding to the red, green, and blue components.

The term hexadecimale is the Italian form of the base-16 system, while hexadecimal is the English name. The etymology combines elements meaning sixteen from Greek and Latin roots, reflecting the base-16 nature of the system. Hexadecimal remains a standard notation in programming, digital design, and computer science education.